Zadran, A.; Ho, A.V.D.; Zadran, L.; Ventura Curiel, I.J.; Pham, T.-T.; Thuan, D.T.B.; Kost, G.J. Optimizing Public Health Preparedness for Highly Infectious Diseases in Central Vietnam. Diagnostics2022, 12, 2047.
Zadran, A.; Ho, A.V.D.; Zadran, L.; Ventura Curiel, I.J.; Pham, T.-T.; Thuan, D.T.B.; Kost, G.J. Optimizing Public Health Preparedness for Highly Infectious Diseases in Central Vietnam. Diagnostics 2022, 12, 2047.
Zadran, A.; Ho, A.V.D.; Zadran, L.; Ventura Curiel, I.J.; Pham, T.-T.; Thuan, D.T.B.; Kost, G.J. Optimizing Public Health Preparedness for Highly Infectious Diseases in Central Vietnam. Diagnostics2022, 12, 2047.
Zadran, A.; Ho, A.V.D.; Zadran, L.; Ventura Curiel, I.J.; Pham, T.-T.; Thuan, D.T.B.; Kost, G.J. Optimizing Public Health Preparedness for Highly Infectious Diseases in Central Vietnam. Diagnostics 2022, 12, 2047.
Abstract
Our primary objectives were a) to determine the need for, and the availability of point-of-care testing (POCT) for infectious diseases and b) to recommend point-of-care testing strategies and spatial care paths (SCPs) that enhance public health preparedness in regional districts of Thua Thien Hue Province (TTHP), Central Vietnam, where we conducted field surveys. Medical professionals in 7 community health centers (CHCs), 7 district hospitals (DHs) and 1 provincial hospital (PH) participated. Survey questions (English and Vietnamese) determined the status of diagnostic testing capabilities for infectious diseases and other acute medical challenges in TTHP. Infectious disease testing was limited: 6 of 7 CHCs (86%) lacked infectious disease tests. One CHC (14%, 1/7) had two forms of diagnostic tests available for the detection of Malaria. All CHCs lacked adequate microbiology laboratories. District hospitals had few diagnostic tests for infectious diseases (Tuberculosis, Syphilis), blood culture (29%, 2/7), and pathogen culture (57%, 4/7) available. The PH had broader diagnostic testing capabilities but lacked preparedness for highly infectious disease threats (e.g., Ebola, MERS-CoV, SARS, Zika, and Monkeypox). All sites reported having COVID-19 rapid antigen tests; COVID-19 RT-PCR tests were limited to higher tier hospitals. We conclude that infectious disease diagnostic testing should be improved and POC tests must be supplied near patients’ homes and in primary care settings for the early detection of infected individuals and mitigation of the spread of new COVID-19 variants and other highly infectious diseases.
Keywords
Infectious disease testing; public health preparedness; point-of-care testing (POCT); molecular diagnostics; therapeutic turnaround time (TTAT); acute medical challenges; geographic information systems; antimicrobial stewardship
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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